believe. teach. practice.: Recent Episodes
Walter Modrys SJ, BJ Brown
believe. teach. practice. brings the Word to life through preaching that engages both the Sunday scriptures and the challenges of practicing a just, Catholic faith in today's world. Learn more about us at believeteachpractice.org.
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by BJ Brown.
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
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Twenty-Eighth Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
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Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by BJ Brown.
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
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Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by BJ Brown
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary TimePreached by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by Walter Modrys SJ
readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin MaryPreached by BJ Brown
The readings for today’s Solemnity can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by BJ Brown
Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
In a postscript homily, BJ mentions Elizabeth A. Johnson’s Come, Have Breakfast, Meditations on God and the Earth. It was published by Orbis Books of Maryknoll NY in 2024.
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by Walter Modrys SJ
In his homily, Fr. Modrys references The Eucharist and the Hunger of the World, by Monika K. Hellwig. The book was first published in 1976 by Paulist Press; an expanded version was published in 1992 by Sheed & Ward. It is available online from multiple sources.
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BPreached by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Solemenity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of ChristPreached by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Solemnity of the Most Holy TrinityPreached by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Pentecost SundayPreached by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Solemnity of the Ascension, Year BPreached by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Sixth Sunday of EasterPreached by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Fifth Sunday of EasterPreached by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Fourth Sunday of Easter and Good Shepherd SundayPreached by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Third Sunday of EasterA reflection by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Second Sunday of EasterA reflection by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Easter Sunday, The Resurrection of the LordA reflection by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, Year BA reflection by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year BA reflection by Walter Modryrs SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year BA reflection by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
A reflection by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Second Sunday of Lent, Year BA reflection by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AA reflection by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Catholic bishops’ website.
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AA reflection by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Discerning Deacons,a grassroots organization whose mission is to engage the Catholic Church in discernment about women and the diaconate, has encouraged Catholic Communities to celebrate Phoebe’s feast day this year by inviting women to preach and share their reflections on the Word of God during their liturgies. St. Paul’s letter to the Romans identifies Phoebe as “a deaconess of the church at Cenchreae” (Romans 16:1-2). To learn more about her and about celebrations of her feast day, visit Discerning Deacons’ website.
The first reading takes us to the troubled times of ancient Israel in the eight century BC. The Assyrians are attacking Jerusalem. One high Jewish official, Shebna, is removed from office and replaced by a man named Hilkiah.We are reading this because the language describing the transfer of power reminds us of today’s gospel. Jesus—symbolically—entrusts…More Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
There was a Jewish synagogue in Manhattan with an inscription carved into its stone facade. It read: My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.That’s a quotation from our first reading, from the Prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament. In our city, our country, the world, those words stand as a…More Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Today’s first reading from the book of Daniel had a profound influence on the New Testament authors. In their interpretation, God, referred to as “the Ancient of Days” is seated on his throne. And the exalted Jesus, referred to as the “Son of Man,” approaches the throne through the clouds of heaven. But in the…More Feast of the Transfiguation of the Lord, Year A
Our first reading describes the ways of God, or perhaps better expressed, the patterns of grace that impact our lives. No wonder it’s complicated. God is mighty and powerful, but judges with clemency and governs with leniency. Putting the two together—power and restraint—is difficult for us. How can we combine justice based on law and…More Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
When President Trump visited France a few years ago, he was greatly impressed with the military parade celebrating Bastille Day. He came home wanting our own military to stage something similar—as a sign of national power and prestige.Unfortunately, in Ukraine and other places we’ve seen lately a lot of military armor riding down city streets,…More Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Of all the characters we encounter in the Bible, no one is more emotionally distraught and fully expressive than the prophet Jeremiah. No one had to endure more distressing circumstances. A battle raged all around him. The nation was on the verge of catastrophic defeat, which only he foresaw. He called for absolute allegiance to…More Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
A reflection by Walter Modrys SJMore The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, June 4A reflection by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
The Solemnity of PentecostA reflection by Fr. Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Solemnity of the Ascension, Year AA reflection by BJ Brown
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year AA reflection by Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year AA reflection by BJ Brown
All the readings for the Easter Vigil can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 30A reflection by Walter Modrys SJ
All the readings for the Easter Vigil can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Third Sunday of EasterAll the readings for the Easter Vigil can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Second Sunday of EasterA reflection by Walter Modrys SJ
All the readings for the Easter Vigil can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website. The readings for Easter Sunday are also the the USCCB website.
Easter Vigil, Year AA reflection by BJ Brown
For a reflection on the gospel for Easter Sunday, please listen again to Fr. Walter Modrys’ reflection for Easter 2021:
Easter SundayAll the readings for the Easter Vigil can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website. The readings for Easter Sunday are also the the USCCB website.
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s PassionA reflection by Walter Modrys SJ
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year AA reflection by BJ Brown
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
A reflection by Walter Modrys SJ
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Third Sunday of Lent, Year AA reflection by BJ Brown
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Second Sunday in Lent, Year AThe greatest compliment one could receive in the time of Jesus was to be called a descendant of Abraham. Remember, that’s what Jesus calls Zacchaeus, the tax collector, when the two have dinner together and people are scandalized.
What makes Abraham such a heroic figure in the bible? That will be answered partially at least in our first reading.
Abraham is in the background of our gospel story of the Transfiguration, along with so many additional biblical references. All this biblical imagery in the gospel story is exquisitely organized to point us in one basic direction toward the future. What will happen to Jesus in the gospel and what happens to us in life.
The second reading is a stunningly beautiful summary of how we are transformed by the grace of Christ. It puts in formal Christian language what the gospel story suggests in biblical imagery. But this second reading echoes the gospel, too, when it speaks of the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus.
—Walter Modrys SJ
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
A reflection by BJ Brown
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary TimeWe modern day Americans think of “law” as regulations imposed by the state based on a legal constitution. The law has nothing to do with religion, which is entirely a matter of private conscience.
But in ancient Israel there was no such distinction. People believed that the law came from God. Obeying the law is what made them a nation and civilized their society.
In our first reading, we get a very small snippet of this Jewish law. One of the great triumphs of the human spirit is the Jewish law that originates at the very beginning of recorded human history.
In the gospel, we continue reading through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus reflects on this great tradition of Jewish law. He takes the law a step further by internalizing it. The law involves not just external conformity and legal compliance. According to Jesus, it applies to what his deepest within us, our motivations and real intentions. Ultimately, Jesus will argue for the law based not on obedience alone, but on love.
In the middle reading, Paul turns from his own identification, which has occupied him so far in the letter, to remind his listeners who they are, their true nature. Imagine someone in Paul’s audience living in a world that denigrates the dignity of the average citizen. Such a person lives in a city with fine buildings that serve as temples to the pagan gods, gods that have no regard for people and need to be constantly placated to avoid their wrath. But all of a sudden, he hears the pronouncement from Paul’s lips: “You are a temple of God.” How life transforming such a description of the human person those words can be if we can accept such a profound truth.
—Walter Modrys SJ
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AA reflection by BJ Brown
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year AIn last week’s gospel, we heard the list of Beatitudes which make up the opening verses of Jesus’ first sermon in Matthew, the so-called Sermon on the Mount. We will continue reflecting on Jesus’ first sermon over the next couple of weeks.
There are so many suitable texts from the Old Testament to choose from as our first reading, to introduce the gospel readings. So many of Jesus’ statements echo similar verses in the biblical prophets. Today is a classic example.
As we move through the Sermon, Jesus will at times take exception to some Old Testament sentiments. But that doesn’t happen this week. Both readings are totally complementary. Jesus challenges his followers to proclaim the gospel by virtuous deeds. And then in the first reading, Isaiah describes the classic praiseworthy behaviors that the people of Israel are to observe. Both readings appeal to the imagery of bringing light into a darkened world.
In the middle reading, we have hardly advanced beyond the beginning of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Paul introduced himself as both humble and boastful. He admits his weaknesses and human limitations. But at the same time, he claims that “Spirit and power” are on his side. Both of these self-descriptions, seemingly contradictory, follow from Paul’s deep spirituality and his vocation as a proclaimer of the gospel.
—Walter Modrys SJ
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, January 29A reflection by BJ Brown
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 22The first reading and the gospel will be extensively discussed in this week’s reflection, so no need here for an introductory commentary. But turn your attention to today’s responsorial psalm. As is so often the case, the psalm puts the readings directly into a prayer context. We know that Jesus himself prayed the psalms. They inspired his preaching and even more the actions of his ministry.
Perhaps this is precisely the psalm Jesus prayed over as he brought the light to a land of darkness at the very beginning of his ministry.
For our second reading, all you have to do is change some of the proper names mentioned in Paul’s letter in order to address the letter to today’s Catholic Church, or to the political and social world in which we live. In Paul’s day, as is true today, people divided themselves into camps under titles like “Paul,” “Apollos,” “Cephas,” even “Christ.” It all seems quite ridiculous. Paul resisted that kind of partisanship in the Church because he could see how it weakens the cause of Christ. Something for us to attend to in our own day.
—Walter Modrys SJ
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, January 15A reflection by BJ Brown
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
The Epiphany of the Lord, January 8Today’s readings are a textbook example of how the evangelists cleverly drew on Old Testament texts to tell the story about Jesus.
People who seek the basis for Matthew’s story of the Wise Men need not search ancient astronomical records for exploding quasars or stars in a wobbly orbit. Far better for them to research the Jewish scriptures that were the real source of Matthew’s story. Fortunately, in the lectionary the Church has done us the favor of doing precisely that.
It is striking how the reading from Isaiah provides so many details that make their way into Matthew’s gospel story—even the mention of camels and the enumeration of the gifts of the Magi. And the Responsorial Psalm perfectly formulates the theme of the liturgical feast: Every nation on earth will adore you.
The second reading from the letter to the Ephesians raises the historical fact of the extension of the Church beyond her Jewish roots to embrace the Gentiles to the height of divine revelation, calling it a “mystery.” This is the mystery that discloses God’s truest self, that divine grace is a gift offered to everyone, that the boundaries we impose on the human family have no bearing on God’s universal love that has no limits.
For Matthew, the Wise Men are the personification of that mystery.
—Walter Modrys SJ
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Octave of Christmas and Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, January 1A reflection by BJ Brown
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
ChristmasA reflection by Walter Modrys SJ
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year AA reflection by BJ Brown
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Third Sunday of Advent, Year AThe Book of Isaiah spans a good part of the history of Israel in the Old Testament, very roughly from about 750 BC to 500 BC. So obviously the book was not written by a single person with a strictly unified message. Rather, the numerous messages throughout the book were adjusted over time according to the historical context.
In today’s reading, the prophet is addressing the exiles languishing in exile, a broken, defeated people. So the message is one of support, empathy and reassurance—promising a hoped-for liberation. Frequently when Isaiah speaks this way, he invokes desert imagery, how God will miraculously moderate the harsh desert conditions through which they must pass to return home, even make the desert fertile.
Such imagery spoke directly to the tragic victims of the disastrous war with the ancient Babylonian empire. While longing to return to Jerusalem their home, they wrote songs lamenting their fate which are preserved in the psalms, like our responsorial psalm today.
Jesus himself knew well all this history, as did every observant Jew in his day. He surely had memorized many of the most moving and lyrical passages from Isaiah. As we see in today’s gospel, Jesus applied so many of Isaiah’s sentiments to his own ministry. Jesus, too, felt he was speaking to poor and broken people and bringing God’s compassionate mercy to them. Some of Jesus’ most consoling words can ultimately be traced back to the book of Isaiah.
Our second reading repeats many of the themes of the Advent season such as patience, endurance and anxious expectation of the Lord’s coming to save his people. The liturgy invites all of us to enter into that experience of waiting for the coming of the Lord.
—Walter Modrys SJ
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
Jerusalem was built on the top of a high elevation—Mount Zion, for military purposes to protect it from attack. The Bible tells us that the world will end with all the nations of the world streaming up to the top of Mount Zion. This assembly will mark the ultimate climax of human history, the final…More First Sunday of Advent, Year A
In every one of the three synoptic gospels we find a chapter just before the passion story that recounts Jesus giving a long sermon in Jerusalem. Luke places Jesus in the Temple precincts itself to deliver his message. And it’s a strange message indeed, at least to our modern ears—filled with provocative predictions about the…More Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
The first reading is difficult to understand, taken out of context. The author wants to draw a contrast between God’s providence for his people on their journey to the Promised Land and the afflictions imposed on their enemies. We’re not supposed to moralize, but just concentrate on one side of this equation. “You have mercy…More Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Our first reading and the gospel passage reinforce one another. But the two settings couldn’t be more different.In the first reading, the people of Israel are on their journey to the Promised Land. Moses needs God’s help to defeat one of Israel’s implacable enemies. But he also needs the help of others. It’s a powerful…More Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Habakkuk was a biblical prophet who lived about 600 BC. His writings in the bible consist of just three short chapters, written for the most part in poetic form. If you read his prophetic words, you would think he was describing our contemporary world.For Habakkuk, the world was falling apart, going to pieces. He rightly…More Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Our first reading is part of the story about Israel in the desert after escaping from slavery in Egypt. At this point in the Exodus account, not much is known about the God of Israel beyond his role as a liberating God. And so, the loyalty of the people is easily compromised as they experience…More Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
The Book of Wisdom, from which our first reading is taken, is more philosophical than any other biblical writing. As the name suggests, the book centers on our need for wisdom. But wisdom in the Bible is not primarily some intellectual gift or the ability to reason brilliantly. Rather, wisdom is the ability to perceive…More Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s first reading gives us some of the last few verses of the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament. It appropriately sounds a triumphal note, a vision of all the nations of the world streaming up to the heavenly Jerusalem to partake in the heavenly banquet at the end of time. Note the mention…More Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C
Our first reading conjures up memories of the Passover event when the Jewish people were freed from their cruel oppressors in Egypt. God intervened to save his people and punished their adversaries. The same note of divine retribution is struck in today’s gospel, though Jesus warns us in the parables that we ourselves may be…More Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C
Last week we met three visitors whom Abraham welcomed into his home. One of them was the Lord himself. In today’s reading, Abraham engages the Lord in a negotiation about the fate of the corrupt city of Sodom. The issue is God’s judgment, how the good and the evil are to be separated and treated…More Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
One of the great dramatic scenes of the Bible is depicted in today’s first reading. The people of Israel, after their escape from slavery and their long forty-year trek through the desert, are about to cross the Jordan River and enter into the Promised Land—what today is called the “West Bank.” Living in the new…More Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
The last few chapters of the Book of Isaiah speak of the time after the Jewish people returned from exile and faced the task of rebuilding Jerusalem. Given the sad effects of the exile, those were hard times. So the prophet spoke words of encouragement, reminding the people of the grand destiny that the Lord…More Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
A special reflection by Fr. Walter Modrys SJMore Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C (Special Edition)